NSX Prime - Off Topic

After ski accident, a builder rebuilds his life from a wheelchair

queenlives — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:37:28 GMT

pretty inspirational quick read:

http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_13829843

Best bang-for-the-buck ever in a large luxury sedan?

dougpr — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:26:51 GMT

I recently went car shopping for a nicer sedan for the times when an insanely fun 2 seater with 5 cubic feet of storage won't cut it. I already own a '95 Accord 5 speed 4cyl, but it's really hard to get behind the wheel of that car after driving the NSX. It offers nothing to me now and so I pile all the miles on my NSX as a DD.

I wanted something semi-new with Navigation and all the bells and whistles. I searched for Lexus ES, GS, LS; Infiniti G, M, Q; Nissan Altima, Maxima; Honda Accord and Acura TL. Most of the nicer new ones were still kinda pricey for what you got. But that's to be expected since these are cars from the Japanese top 3 and all have good resale value.

Then I looked at the Acura RL. The 96-04 model that followed the last Legend was priced insanely low and did not follow the trend of every other Honda in resale value.

I found a 2004 Acura RL (which was the model year with EVERYTHING standard with zero dealer options...Navigation, XM 10 speaker system, power everything, mirror defroster, 2 memory setup, rear seat vents, etc.) for $8,800. The car is clean and has 130k miles, but damn what depreciation on a car that stickered for $46,000 5 years ago.

This car is as large and as refined as the Lexus LS series. Yeah it's front wheel drive, yeah it's only a V-6, yeah it's only 4 speed auto...but I never imagined being able to find such luxury at such a low price.

What's the deal? The only thing I could figure is that by 2004, the 1996 design was dated. Also the car was a sales bomb. Also compared to the Lexus LS with V-8 power on rear wheels, it didn't compete in the powertrain department.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. If you're looking for a used Japanese luxury sedan with tons of refinement, I don't know of any better bang-for-the-buck than locating a 2004 RL. (You could locate an older one for even less, but then it's a search to see if all the features are there since they were "options" in previous years.)

The road is my patient. The NSX is the scalpel making precision cuts. The RL is the anesthesia with its soothing comfort. Getting behind the wheel of the RL places a smile on my face, but for different reasons than my NSX. I feel like I got the best of both worlds from Honda now. Honda's best precision street performance and Honda's best luxury.

Why did the resale value plummet on this car? Why are 2004 Accords and TL's still more expensive than 2004 RL's?

Doug
-----------
'95 NSX-T
'04 3.5 RL

Black Friday Sale Ads

MIZZOUNNC — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:29:19 GMT

http://bfads.net/

FYI. Its approaching that time of the year again. To participate or not to participate.........

So you think you can ride a bike .........

passline — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:04:31 GMT

This demonstration totally blew me away! My daughter lives in UK.
I know there are some excellent free stylers in Southern Cal and would like some comment. This guy is GOOD! Music and location is really nice.

Kids Training Film

http://link.brightcove.com/services/...id=21337502001

Thinking of buying a smog shop...insights? Opinions?

BillyIdol — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:13:14 GMT

Stocks are shaky. CDs rates blow. What do you do? I guess buy your own business.

I've been searching for a business to buy that would be simple to understand while filling a real need. Everyone needs their car smogged if they want to drive it, so...in a way...smogging a car is a near necessity. I'm in SoCal by the way.

The smog shops that I have looked at online seem to be mostly owner operators, with only a few investors that have hired a smog technician. I'll probably go the investor route because I will eventually want to own several or save up enough money and buy a Subway shop too.

1)How would you make sure smog guy isn't cheating you?
2)Have you ever owned a smog shop? Tips? Advice?
3)Any recommendations for equipment to go with?
4)If you haven't owned a smog shop, do you have any insight into the smog business?
5)If you have one smog technician helping you and he calls in sick, where could you get a back up?
6)If you don't like the smog shop idea, any other ideas for good businesses to buy?

John

One of the best Prank Calls Ever!!!

sicarius82 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:20:34 GMT

RIP Ken Ober

91 X — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:32:38 GMT

for those old enough to remember MTV's first game show "Remote Control" the host with the most, Ken Ober has past away at the age of 52...That corny show helped launch the careers of Adam Sandler, Collin Quinn, Denis Leary and others...

RIP Ken Ober

” Denis Leary also got his start on the show, and released a statement saying: “Kenny Ober was and always will be the quickest wit in the room… a smart, fast and hilarious human being who made many of us, including myself, laugh until we cried. As the star and host of Remote Control, he was a welcoming ringmaster who helped to kickstart the careers of numerous talents, including Adam Sandler, Colin Quinn and myself. He will be remembered always by each of his friends not only for his massive talent but for his true, deep and enduring friendship

Cool Site

vf2ss — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:42:28 GMT

Everything in the world blueprinted...thought this is a cool reference site to have handy...

The-Blueprints.com is a repository website dedicated to collecting 3/4/5-View Drawings/Templates/Blueprints for as many objects as possible.

Ranging from humans to cars, sci-fi vehicles, jetfighters, military, weapons and mobile phones, etc., there are more than 36,000 images in the collection, which makes this the largest free collection on the internet. The site is updated on a daily basis.

hint: the NSX is found under Honda

Here's a quick sample of just one/ten-thousandth of what's there:

Early NSX

02+ NSX

Twin Ring Motegi Safety Car

Arta NSX 05

Nintendo DS alternatives for 5 year old

tosugrad — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:07:07 GMT

So my 5 year old daughter has fallen in love with a friends' DS. I think its too pricey of a machine for her. Can anyone recommend an alternative that a 5-6 year old would enjoy?

Thanks!

Tim Sylvia goes on a blind date...

sicarius82 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:15:29 GMT

This is an old clip, but still entertaining. Grasshoppers??? Are you kidding me???

you gotta go fight!

quack — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:17:16 GMT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_re_...mom_deployment

So you join the army and refuse orders? That's like going to mcdonalds and requesting filet mignon.

What's going on ? Advice please......

Mike-san — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:04:50 GMT

I have a Ford F-150 V8 triton as my D.D. Driving today, I smell antifreeze, but the temp gauge does not budge. I get home after a 20 min drive and look under the truck to see a slight leak dripping off of the tranny area, so I pop the hood, but do not see anything leaking in the top area of the engine. I park in the garage and go to change my clothes so i can get a closer look at things. I go back out, start up the truck, and let it idle. I look under the truck and there's no leak....I check the line going from the radiator to the engine, but there's no leak.....There is however, a significant pooling of what smells like antifreeze on the ground from when I had parked it 15 min. earlier....Any ideas ? :confused:

Apple Store employee?

PoohBEAR — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:20:50 GMT

I accidently spilled some water close to the phone, and some went in. Now my iphone died :mad: Took to the genius people, they said water damaged voided the warranty. Any cool Apple store employee can hook me up with another phone ? :tongue:

Don Nguyen | AP1 S2K Track Car - Carbon Fiber Full Body Wrap

Don Nguyen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:34:21 GMT

Doing a full car wrap on my buddy's S2k. It's a in-progress track car, and instead of painting it, he decided to have me wrap it with my carbon fiber material to give it a different look/style.

(The lighter/white spots are just from the dust from my hands when I was working with the vinyl)

(Since it's a track car, we just laid the carbon fiber vinyl over the old mounting holes for the stock mirrors, which is why it looks wavy in that area of the door)

(I did the main piece/section here, and he did the small side pieces. A good example/note to make here is to be careful when installing vinyl, as you can scratch it, leaving the white residue that you see in between the seams there)

(Matte black hood)

If you guys have any questions, or want any specific pictures let me know, and I'll take some for you guys.

-Don

Battery Tender

racer-ex — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:01:16 GMT

can you guys help me find a Battery Tender...thank you......Bill